Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) will be extending its temporary supplemental drinking water assistance to Oasis Mobile Home Park until the end of April.
“This is important for the 1,900 residents that live in this community. We are happy to be able to help in any way we can,” said CVWD Board Vice President Cástulo Estrada.
The Park is on tribal land in Oasis. Its water system, regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is not connected to CVWD. Water in that system exceeds federal arsenic drinking water standards. The Park owner is mandated to provide free bottled water to the residents until the system is safe. CVWD, in conjunction with Riverside County, has provided a temporary supplemental drinking water source to the residents since Dec. 10, 2019. CVWD has provided a temporary water trailer and operator within a County-permitted area in front of the Park at the County’s expense.
Since then, the availability of bottled water has diminished as shoppers stock up in light of COVID-19 virus shutdowns and the County’s funding source has been depleted.
CVWD has agreed to continue and fund the supplemental water service previously paid for by the County. The estimated weekly cost is $3,000 per week and will be paid with CVWD domestic water non-rate revenue.
“The County of Riverside really stepped up and provided funding to ensure these residents had access to drinking water,” Estrada said. “Now that their funds have been exhausted, we are here to step in and help. The EPA has assured us that they will bring this system back into compliance by the end of April. The residents of this community are counting on all of us.”
The temporary supplemental drinking water assistance by CVWD is from 4 to 7 p.m. daily. In addition, to replace the bottled water, the Park owner has reached an agreement with CVWD to be onsite during the day to provide more drinking water at their expense. The Park owner will fund CVWD to be onsite from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
So, residents will have access to receive water from the temporary tank from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
CVWD also reminds consumers that CVWD-supplied tap water is safe and it’s unnecessary to hoard bottled water. Tap water is more strictly regulated than bottled water and the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water.
The Coachella Valley Water District is a public agency governed by a five-member board of directors. The district provides domestic and irrigation water, agricultural drainage, wastewater treatment and reclamation services, regional stormwater protection, groundwater management and water conservation. It serves approximately 108,000 residential and business customers across 1,000 square miles, located primarily in Riverside County, but also in portions of Imperial and San Diego counties.
